如之前所述，訪問精英大學創辦人拿督陳德鴻耗時7小時，非常心狠手辣地改寫又改寫，後來刊登在2011年10月1日的一號人物專訪中。
這篇專訪（讀：每個學生都是我的傳承）現在有了英文翻譯本，譯得蠻不錯，用英文來讀自己的訪問稿，讀起來感覺…別有一番風味？事實上訪問是用英語來進行，如果使用英文來下筆，我就省了一番功夫，而從英文到中文，再從中文到英文譯本，當中是否有流失了一些神韻？
The No.1 Personality: Chan Tuck Hoong
Founder of
HELP University
|
Establishing
Institution Brings Fulfillment,
Chan
T H Produces Well-known Students.
By Chan Foo Hoong
The name of HELP University
originally stands for the abbreviation of “Higher Education Learning
Philosophy”. In retrospective, this world known institution was originally
formed with the intention to provide assistance to those disadvantaged groups.
Introduction:The President and founder of HELP University, Datuk Chan Tuck Hoong was called “Ah Woon” (Note: “Woon” means “change” in Cantonese) when he was young. This was because he was treated like a “human ball” soon after his birth for being sent to his aunty who brought him up, in order to save the life of his ailing mother.Staying near Sek Yuen Restaurant at Pudu, KL and being raised in a poor family, Datuk Chan led a life of misery when young. However, he never felt inferior to others. Now, after going through the major part of his life, our economist cum entrepreneur realizes that being given the chance for education is a “change” for him to cherish a sense of fulfillment in the final outcome.Starting like a feather-weight bird, Chan Tuck Hoong had been equipped with the wings of education to fly high in the realm of the industry for over 40 years (Translator’s note: “Hoong” in Chinese means flying swan, a metaphor for high flyer). Chan talked about education with Oriental Daily News in an exclusive interview, “Education will lead you to question: ‘Why are we here? What should we do?’”
(Main Article)
Chan
reiterates that to be involved in education, one must have the passion to
contribute. He likens this obsession as a compulsive gambler. “You must have
that obsession to help others, otherwise you won’t be able to stay long in
education,” says Chan.
But
the emphasis is on legacy, like the soothing fragrant air immersing people all
the way. “Everyone I help is my legacy. This does not mean owning a vast campus
or earning RM2million or 3million. Money can come and go, But if 30% of my
students fail to achieve, that’s a great failure!”
“If
I am making a cup, I won’t fail. I can redo if I didn’t do a good job. But if
our students studying here for two to three years without learning things other
than acquiring the degree, we have failed.”
“We
are not here to count how many first-class honors we have ‘produced’, but how
many weak students we have been helped.”
Capability
Comes From Learning, Master Comes from Coaching
“In education, we should look at the
philosophy. Without the philosophy, it is mere profit and transaction of
money.” Chan points out.
He
always believes that ‘Capability comes from learning, master comes from
coaching’. But the ultimate function of
education is moral character: good moral comes first, next the
leadership, competency, then only ‘functional skills’.
Education
is character building through self-reflection. It should include the virtue to
differentiate between the right and the wrong.
“A
successful person may not be wealthy. But first of all he must be an upright
person, being looked upon by his children as behavioral model. Secondly, he should know how to influence
others with his thinking and conduct. Thirdly, he should be able to impart
knowledge and skills.” Chan reiterates.
Chan
began his lecturing career in University of Malaya in 1963. Now he has students
everywhere. Last month he just had had a
gathering with his students who were with him 38 years ago. There is a sense of
satisfaction in it. “But if your former students meet you and refuse to greet
you, then they don’t like you, you have failed.” he cautions.
Think Exponential, Act Material
Holding
the honorable position as the Chairman of a public listed company and
entrepreneur, Chan holds on steadfastly to two world motto. First, to THINK
EXPONENTIAL, always think of the macro setting, big dream and broad
perspective. Second, ACT MATERIAL, be pragmatic, act on the details.
“Sometimes people simply cannot think out of
the box. I used to listen people saying ‘But…’, I am tired of it because they
are setting their own obstacles.”, says Chan.
During those earlier years, Chan made a
decision to forgo his prestigious position in UM after feeling that not much
breakthrough could be effected. With the advice from the first owner of KFC Loo
Cheng Yi, Chan and his wife Low Kam Yoke decided to throw in all their lots and
venture into the outside world.
For
the start, they rented two classrooms in KL to provide tuition to those
students who were preparing to sit for the London University degree
examination. That was a major turning point in his life during which he had to
literally biting his teeth to keep going.
No NG For Stage Performer
“I
was totally unprepared and unequipped for the undertaking – no skills and no
experience in running business. Since I was not under retirement then, I was
not entitled to pension.’
“Many
academicians could not become entrepreneurs because they relied heavily on
their past glory, academic journal articles and Ph.D thesis to work on. But all
these won’t transform you into an entrepreneur, they become a form of burden
instead.” says Chan.
“I
was like a ‘stage actor’ rather than a film actor. As film actor acting in
front of the camera, you can replay if you commit errors in your presentation.
But being on the stage is entirely a different story, you learn while you
perform. To live and to do business involve both learning and doing at the same
time. ”
“Therefore
either I perform or perish.”
Come
25th anniversary, HELP has been upgraded into a full-fledged
international university with multi campuses, over 10,000 students. Its holding
company, HELP International Corporation has been ranked among the top 200
financially best managed enterprises in Asia by the Forbes Magazine. In
retrospective, Chan really did not act out any NG scene.
Chan has an enormous piles of books in his
possession. Other than his personal library, books are also found in his
bedroom.
Frugality Breeds Virtue, Poverty
Can Be Positive
Since
young, Chan was already had a high standard of self-benchmarking. He remembered
when he was 10 years old, he only
managed to achieve his class position at 13th. He was afraid to go
back to his auntie’s house because he
used to score the top position in the class.
In
reminiscence, it was the fear of tarnishing the family’s name that mattered.
“People nowadays will say if you fail, try it again. But to us, we can’t afford
to fail.” Chan stresses.
“In
those days, we walked to the school along the railway line, having nothing
luxurious, staying in shabby house, no proper toilet, no electricity and water,
under the roof was the muddy floor……. But I used to cycle with my playmates to
Imbi Road to steal the fruits from those bungalow parlours. All these brought me joyful memory.”
To
Chan, schooling was a ‘getaway’. “I would cry during the school holidays
because I could see my classmates. I did not like to be at home.” recalls Chan.
As
it was believed that Chan needed to be brought up by someone else for the sake
of his mother’s good luck, he was under the care of his strict and
self-disciplined aunt until he was 10.
As a child, Chan had to help his aunt to man the store counter selling
cigarettes and candies. He often took a bus from Pudu to a wholesale shop
opposite the Rex Theatre at Sultan Street to buy cigarette fibre and repack it
into cigarette rolls for sale. “That was the time I learned to be independent”,
Chan says.
“Sometimes people simply cannot come out of his mind-set. I used to listen
people saying ‘But…’, I am tired of it because they are setting their own
obstacles.”
Up-streaming
To Enter Elite School
Chan’s
father was a petition writer working outside the court house at Mountbatten
Street (now Jalan Tun Perak). He typed letters and helped applying license etc.
for those people illiterate in
English. “All that my father possessed
were a type-writer and a stool. Once in a few months, our family would run out
of money and my father would pawn his type-writer to get some money. ” Chan
narrates.
While
at the primary school, Chan already longed to enter the prestigious Methodist
Boy School, KL, which was known as Horley School by local community. He did
attend the school at the Form III level
but only admitted to Methodist Afternoon School organized by the missionary
specially for those weak students. “Though my class started in the afternoon, I
was already in the school at 10:00am standing outside the classroom watching
those students learning in the normal classes.”
Thereafter
Chan was abale to score well in Form III public examination and he took the
initiative to write to the Japanese Principal, Mr T Mori for admission into the
normal class but still in futile. It was not until he passed the entrance
examination for Sixth Form that he was finally allowed to study in the school
of his dream. “No one helped me, even the choice of school was made by myself,”
says Chan.
Even
after entering the University of Malaya, Chan still had to come to term with adversity.
At his place of stay still lack of electricity power. Whenever Chan borrowed
books from the library, he would have to make notes over the night. “Those days
at the kitchen, we used ethylene gas lamp that use to ripen fruits for lighting
purpose. It was after sometimes later that we acquired a kerosene pressure
lamp….. ” Chan says..
After
graduation from UM, Chan swiftly took up teaching job. At one time he was
offered a scholarship to further study at Oxford University but it did not
materialize due to some family matters. However, other scholarships soon came
in for him to study his Master and PhD degrees in Canada and Australia.
As
the saying goes: A hero’s background history needs no questioning. But Chan was
quite indifferent to glamorous and
humble situations. “I wouldn’t feel the pinch as I had never seen a rich man.
It is only when you realize the difference that you will sense the pain. ”
“Many Malaysians thought that things they
enjoy are nothing but godsend. In actual fact, working hard, work performance, rewards
and recognition are the natural sequence of things happening. But our Malaysian
friends fail to see it. They upset this logical order of events by getting
their rewards prematurely. ” Chan comments.
There
are always reasons for one to be prosperous.
Looking back over his past, Chan has this to say. “So, to have poor is
nothing bad after all.”
Wife’s
Narrow Escape From Death Brings Enlightenment About Reality Of Life
The
incident of Chan’s spouse Datin Low Kam Yoke’s narrow escape from death opened
a new horizon to him about the truth and reality of life and he began to
appreciate more the uncertainty and intangibility of one’s destiny.
In 2001, Mdm Low shuttled between Indonesia
and London. Upon her return to Malaysia, two days before Christmas eve, while
tidying up her luggage to prepare for the trip to Kunming, China, she suddenly
fainted at the toilet.
All her family members were at nerve’s end
and sent her to several hospitals for treatment. Diagnosis showed that she had aneurysm.
“Her chance of survival was only 18% at that time. The blood vessel had burst
and needed to be clamped. Subsequent operation didn’t solve the problem as the
tumor is too deeply seated. ”
Tumor of the artery was caused by defects
related to the thinning down of the arterial wall and the affected part had
inflated like a tiny balloon. Should the pocket rupture under tension,
hemorrhage and stroke of the brain will ensue.
Chan
still dreads over that incident until nowadays. “I was extremely frightened
then. When the doctor explained to me about it, my mind was totally blank like
an unprepared student confronting a major exam, I could hardly take in anything
being uttered by the doctor, ” says him.
Mdm Low was in the state of coma from
Christmas eve to the 15th day of Chinese New Year Festival. The
whole family was mobilized to look for well-known doctors all over the place
and two operations were done on her each of which took 7 to 8 hours.
The second operation was successfully carried out in Bangkok by a French
specialist who happened to visit South East Asia.
“That’s
why nowadays I treasure every morning I have because God has bestowed me with
another 24 hours to live. Every day before my sleep. I will thank God and all
those for enabling me to thrive for another day. No matter what I have done,
folly or wise they may be, I continue to cherish the beauty of life every time
I woke up in the morning, as long as I still can walk, can think and can see
things around. ”
Life
is finite, now how to create infinite things
is another matter, “This should be our attitude towards life. People
like to pretend that death doesn’t exit but actually it is always there,” Chan opines.
He
frankly admitted that there was time when he was lavish. That was when he
earned his first million. He purchased a pair of trouser and a tie in Hong
Kong, each costing him RM500.
“Now,
I am no more concerned about who the manufacturers of those goods are. Look at
the loose fibre at the tips of this pair of trouser of mine. My assistant used
to complaint about the trousers I wore. But I am not bothered. I bought ten
pairs of socks of a single color, I bought neck ties that cost RM3. It is
immaterial.,” says Chan.
“You
cannot depend on your clothes to draw people’s attention. The necktie worn by
some Tan Sri’s are more expensive than yours. What you own is also owned by
others.”
Casual
chat with Chan (Q & A excerpt)
Q:
How do you get your motivation?
A:
Some people get their motivation externally
like money. power and recognition but I rely on intrinsic and internalize.
Q:
What is leadership?
A:
Leadership is not about how good you are but how good you can make out of
others.
Some people cannot be good leader because
they dare not engage persons who are better than them. The moment you give them
something bigger to do, they will
collapse.
So, to destroy somebody, what you need to
do is simply offering him a higher post.
Q:
Isn’t it important to gather one’s will power? But how to cultivate the
self-awareness about it?
A:
Many people don’t know who they are because they dare not ask about it. Because
when you ask, you are fear to realize what you are not good at. However, you often tell others what you are
good at. You hide something behind……not many
people are sincere. Hence, it is not easy for people to have
self-awareness. We need
self-reflection really.
Q:
How do you self-reflect?
A:
Ask yourself every morning: What have I done?
What mistake have I made?
Q:
Will you be regretful when you wake up in the morning?
A:
Everyday. There are two types of regret: the first is what you have done, the
second one is what you have not done.
For
instance, I will say I wish I were 40 because I have come to know so many
things now. But will I say that when I
was 40? Maybe I am just talking
nonsense.
Q:
Every time you open your eyes for another new day, you start to think of repenting
and to be regret about something. Isn’t that
negative?
A:
Yes. When you thought of something in the past, you tend to be sorry about
certain things. But whatever gone is gone. You need to
turn your regret into positive force rather than having negative attitude.
Q:
How do we handle inter-personal relationship?
A:
Putting on a positive attitude would not hurt anyone. Even if you don’t mean
it, it’s still alright because you don’t harm them. Sometimes
personal relationship involves working relationship, what you said might cause
him to hate you for 30 years or keep it in his heart for 40 years.
Then do you know the difference between
human and dog? The dog will not harbor hatred.
They will fight and forget, for food. But
human with thought , wisdom and memory will harbour hatred for many years. Come the time, they
will kill their opponents.
Note
on the interview
Caption
text: Chan (left) sharing the parts and parcels of life with our News Editor Chan Foo Hoong .
Interview
Remark:
Just Like Listening To the Wind and
Wave In An Ink Painting
By:
Chan Foo Hoong
Chan
Tuck Hoong is a captivating story-teller. I purposely keep some of the terms
mentioned by him in English in the text because they carry dual meanings. Some
statements were delivered with rhythmic intonation and is an unusual treat and
sensation to the listener.
Chan’s
repertoire of reading materials can be said to be voluminous and fascinating.
The design of his house suggest certain adherence to the essence of five
dimensions in Chinese philosophical thinking. All the windows in his house are
without grills. According to Chan, this is to create an impression in one’s
mind of being living in a painting of water calligraphic ink. Every window is
equivalent to a piece of ink painting work. Through them, you can watch the
silhouettes of the trees outside, a scene intertwined with the tempo of life.
It
came to my mind about a verse from a poem that states: ‘Should you query about
the meaning of engrossment,’. The verse that follows it will be ‘Just Like Listening
To the wind and wave In An Ink Painting’ – a faithful reflection of Chan’s path
of his inner self indeed. Along the path, he may feel some emptiness and
solitude at times but the void being created can be richly perceived and
interpreted through the eyes of one’s mind.
Personal Profiles
Name: Chan Tuck Hoong
Position: Founder & President of
HELP University, Chairman of HELP International Corporation.
Year of Birth: 1943
Family: Married with Mdm Low Kam Yoke
with a son, a daughter and four grand children
Academic Qualifications: B. Econ, UM (1966); Master in Economics, U. McMaster, Canada
(1968); Ph.D in Economics, Aus. National
U (1974).
Experiences:
·
HOD,
Applied Economics, UM
·
Consultative
Advisors to several Universities in China, US and Australia
·
As
think tank member to several Economic Master Blueprint of international
organization and Malaysian
Government; As leading member in formulating the KL Composite Index
Company Profiles
·
A public listed company with core business in education,
training and professional extension training services with plan to set up
private secondary schools
·
Its subsidiary company runs the HELP University which offers
Foundation courses, Degree and postgraduate courses
The company recorded a turnover of RM152m and a pretax profit
of RM26.70m in 2010.
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